Halo: Battle for the Colonies
by D3MON.L3ON
Summary: Follow the story of Spartans sent to the colony Arcadia to fend off the malicious Covenant. However, there is an ancient secret within the planet that the UNSC has been hiding, a discovery that could unleash widespread chaos, not just on the planet but throughout the universe. REVIEWS HIGHLY APPRECIATED (Currently on hold. Attempting.)
1. Prologue

**This is something I have been meaning to show to the public so that I may get feedback and see what others think of it. This is not a complete project and as it stands right now I believe that I have completed one-third of what I plan to write. If you are a fan of some of the REAL Halo stories you will notice some relation to the legacy of Halo but as you should already know it is fan fiction so it is as I imagine something taking place in the story. No characters or events in this story are related to the Halo timeline. Enjoy and let me know what you think.  
**

**Prologue**

**Present Time**

The male stood at the mouth of the cave as the warm wind swept by. The holographic image of the AI Omega appeared atop a medium sized boulder to his left. "Please excuse my interruption of your moment of silence Leon but i have detected movement along the ridge. My guess is Covenant search parties looking for stragglers they may have overlooked."

Removing his magnum from its holster upon his thigh Leon inspected the battered weapon. "And their numbers are?"

Figures streamed across the AI's figure as he searched for an answer to the question. "Within my limited scan range I detect two search parties. Six in each, perhaps the standard grunts lead by a single elite."

Leon smirked behind his helmets visor knowing that taking the search parties out would be a simple task for any Spartan. However, the magnum he held tightly was his only tool of destruction which had rounds still. Even still he was down to his last magazine. The rest of the ammunition had been used during his last mission and his retreat. Amongst the chaos that had taken place as the orbital power grid had been destroyed leaving the planets orbital defense ring crippled and Leon separated from the rest of his squad as the covenant quickly pushed the lines. This particular mission failure left a stinging pain in his heart. He hated losing but his failure left him with a new task at hand, surviving and possibly regrouping with his team.

"Leon we could use a little more fire power and we both know they have it."

As Leon stepped from the cave he couldn't fight the urge. In a light yet somehow firm voice he asked, "Omega have you picked up any UNSC communications?"

The AI seemed surprised by the question, "Unfortunately I have not." The AI's figure disappeared from its perch yet his voice still spoke through the speakers within the Spartan's helmet, "For what it is worth Leon I am sorry."

Walking as quietly as possible Leon quietly replied after letting out a small sigh, "Thanks."

The elite known as Zarkaku grunted. He hated being stuck on straggler duty but the cries for pity and the screams of agony as his cool blue blade sliced through their form was well worth the hassle. The sound of plasma being discharged caught his attention and snapped him back to the task at hand. "What is going on?"

The grunt that discharged his plasma pistol jumped in fear of what punishment was awaiting him for target practicing with a field mouse. "N-nothing sir, I was just practicing my aim on a small animal."

Although he felt some anger against the grunt for possibly warning off victims he still had a level of understanding. What use was the grunt if he couldn't hit his target? "Keep your target practice for when you're training or else the last thing you will see will be my blade."

The grunt gulped loudly, "Y-yes sir, won't happen again." The feeling that all eyes were upon him and passing judgment struck fear into him. As he rounded a rock formation he felt a push from behind.

Watching his motion sensor carefully Leon inched his way along a small ledge. The sound of plasma fire confirmed what his sensor told him, he was close. "Omega how close is the second patrol?"

"I believe they are three hundred meters to the South West. I advise taking care to being quiet so as to keep our whereabouts a secret. At least for now anyway."

"That's what I was thinking. Keep checking for any comms from allied forces."

"Will do, just don't get your hopes up."

"Copy that." Sticking to the shadows that the sun's position provided Leon silently took position above a rock formation which stood approximately five meters from his position. If things got bad he could drop behind it for cover. As he watched the patrol he noticed that a single grunt was being scolded, perhaps the one who discharged his weapon. Examining the surrounding area he did not notice any bodies only a small charred crater in the ground ten meters from the group. "A little trigger happy aye?"

"So it appears."

"That was rhetorical Omega." Leon noticed the singled out grunt had begun to make its way to the rock formation. Hugging the ledge he waited for the moment to pounce and be one step closer to evening the odds. Just as he was about to make his move he noticed two grunts swiftly pursuing the first grunt. "Must be my birthday."

Mildly listening to their conversation he kept an eye on the rest of the patrol, the elite in particular. Seeing that no attention was being paid to the three grunts he hopped to the top of the rock formation. Dropping down he landed atop the middle grunt, the weight of his armor crushing bones on impact killing the grunt instantly. Quickly grabbing the knifes stashed within the armor on his shoulders he fluidly sliced the throats of the remaining two in one motion.

He plucked plasma grenades from their owners and peeked around the rock. Satisfied that the others were unaware that their friends had just met their doom he waited for an opportune time to make his move. Recognizing he wasn't going to get a better opportunity he spun the knives in his hands so the blades were in the clasp of his fingertips and bolted around the rock. He sent the knives twirling through the air, each slicing their way into the skull of one grunt and the throat of another. Sprinting to the elite he hoped he would make it to his target in time to not draw unwanted attention. The elite spun around after suddenly hearing footsteps and bloody corpses hitting the ground. To Leon's advantage he was close enough that he could attack and that he had caught the elite off guard. Using all his strength he thrust his fist into the elite's stomach leaving him breathless and unable to cry for help. Leon hopped over his hunched foe and plucked the energy sword from the elites hip and as the blade sparked to life he thrust the blade upward slicing the elite in half.

"Well Omega we are in the clear." He wore a smirk satisfied with his accomplishment.

"The second patrol is continuing with their path, nicely done Leon."

"How is the comm chatter?" He knew what the answer was as he waited for the response he stowed the energy sword in an empty grenade pouch upon his waist and bent over picking up the blood splattered plasma rifle from the elite's corpse.

"Their quiet, even the covenant chatter has dropped substantially." The AI's tone changed slightly, "We have a problem, they are preparing to glass Arcadia!"

"Another colony lost to the covenant." The Spartan's fists shook from his frustration. "We have to make it off the planet before it is too late."

"Agreed, but finding transport will not be a simple.." His voice cut off suddenly as something caught his attention. "Leon you're going to want to hear this."

"Patch it through."

Radio static broke the short silence immediately followed by a male's voice, "This is Sierra One Eight Three, my team is MIA, requesting immediate evac over."

A smile spread across Leon's face, "Sierra One Eight Three this is Sierra Two Three Six, I am sending you coordinates now. Meet me there."

"Negative on that, I'm pinned down one click north of the power grid. I will have Deja send the coordinates when you get closer, I cannot afford to be compromised."

"Copy that Sierra Two Three Six out."

"Setting a waypoint now." Omega knew this was exactly what Leon needed to keep going.

The Spartan known as Michael took a seat in the corner of the darkly lit room as he slid shells into his M90 Combat Assault Weapon (CAW). Besides the whining of banshees and phantoms passing by the war torn six story building all was calm. A female's voice broke the silence he had grown to enjoy.

"I finished triangulating Leon's position as you requested Michael. Her voice was calm despite everything the AI had been through in the past thirty six hours.

"And?"

"He is 2.6 kilometers east of the power grid."

Resting the freshly loaded shotgun against the wall to his right, he replied with a small groan of pain, "Copy that Deja. Thank you." The male slipped his MKV helmet off and placed it next to his trusty shotgun. Deja's holographic figure appeared atop the helmet. "Deja I want you to be my eyes and ears while I make repairs to my armor."

She examined the Spartan noticing multiple valuable pieces of armor missing, melted away by inaccurate plasma fire that could have easily taken her reclaimer's life allowing her to fall into enemy hands. "Rerouting power to maximize the motion sensor range now. I will alert you if I get a possible reading.

"Thank you Deja."


	2. Chapter 1: Mission is a Go

**CHAPTER 1: MISSION IS A GO**

**36 Hours prior**

Jax glanced around the room mentally preparing himself for the mission so as to be mentally cleansed of anything that could cause him to be less combat effective. A males voice shattered the silence of the hastily constructed Spartan barracks aboard the UNSC frigate New York.

"Excuse me but the captain requests your presence Leon."

"Thank you Omega." Leon turned to Jax, "Hold down the fort while I am gone."

"You got it lead." The two men exchanged nods and Jax's eyes followed Leon as he exited the room. The male slipped his helmet on and keyed his radio. "Sierra One Six Two calling for a radio check." As he glanced around the room once more he received thumbs up from all twelve of his fellow Spartans. He took a seat next to one of them that he had become rather close to over the years. "Your skill with a sniper rifle never ceases to amaze me Holly."

As she screwed the barrel onto rifle a smile spread across her pale face. "You keep trying to flatter me Jax and everyone is going to start thinking there is something going on between us."

He chuckled as he slipped his helmet off, "Well everyone is entitled to have their own opinions about things." He ran his gauntlet across his freshly buzzed hair, "I was just saying I would gladly have you watching my back is all. Lord knows how many times you've saved my ass."

She smiled even more as she rested the rifle against the bench, "I wouldn't have to if you weren't so reckless when it came to taking care of yourself."

"I'm not that bad, need I remind you of how chaotic it is when you have enemies that not only out number you but are intelligent as well?"

"Why do you think I keep my distance?" The two laughed together, it was nice to find joy amongst all the chaos they had been through so early in the war with the covenant.

Leon stepped through the doors of the command center of the UNSC frigate New York. As he walked past the many stations positioned near the entrance he glanced at the monitors noticing that every weapon station he passed was no longer on standby. He stood straight and motionless after he approached the captain. "Captain Leonard sir, you requested my presence?"

Captain Leonard turned around and was welcomed by Leon saluting him, "At ease son. I called you because we are nearing Arcadia. We are going to be dropping out of slip space into a war that has already begun. We are going to be launching your team ground side to ensure protection of the power grid. We cannot lose the orbital defense ring. Do you understand me?"

Leon nodded, "Yes sir, if I may provide an idea I believe we will have a higher chance of mission success."

The male in his mid-forties showed a small sign of surprise on his face. This was the first time any lower ranking soldier even considered giving him advice. But he liked it; it showed dedication to the mission. "Well then let's hear it."

Nodding once more Leon proceeded, "I believe that we should deploy my team in three pelican sir."

"Three? Maybe two but three is a little much don't you think?"

Leon admitted to himself he enjoyed the puzzled look that appeared on the captain's face. "I would like to have two deploy most of my team, twelve to be exact ground side while the third deploys the remaining two inside the orbital ring to keep an eye on the data crystal containing the information of the location of Earth and Reach. If worse comes to it destroying the data crystal to ensure the safety of the valuable information."

The captain nodded as he thought the Spartan's suggestion over. "Very well Leon, I will arrange rides for your men. One more thing I had Omega make a copy of himself to provide your team with a tactical advantage over the enemy. Don't worry the important information was not copied." He handed the memory unit to the Spartan, "Keep him safe, he is your most valuable asset. On a side note, copies of AIs tend to not last very long and be a bit buggy. Once you notice him starting to go haywire crush the memory unit before he does damage to your armor internally. Now report back to your men and debrief them."

"Yes sir." Leon saluted the captain, turned and exited the room.

Jax was enjoying his conversation when he heard a buzzing noise coming from his helmet. "Hold that thought Holly." He slipped his helmet on and spoke into the microphone within his helmet, "This is Sierra One Six Two, please repeat last transmission."

"Jax its Leon, get everyone ready we will be taking off soon."

"Roger that lead." The comm snapped off. Jax couldn't help but recognize how Leon was acting, he was focused and already in the mindset of being on the ground and surrounded. Jax stood up from his seat next to Holly and looked around the room at his teammates as he spoke, "Alright people Leon is on his way back. Get all your gear ready and fall in. I want everything combat ready before he walks through those doors." He received silent acknowledges from everyone and an array of hisses and clicks echoed through the room as everyone slipped their helmets on. Performing a final once over of his own weapons which consisted of the standard assault rifle and magnum.

The thick metal doors slid apart as Leon approached the room revealing the team in two rows equipped for battle. "Alright everybody it is mission time." The words rolled off his tongue as he entered the room. "I am splitting us into three teams. Two will be deployed ground side while the third will be positioned within the orbital defense ring to protect a high priority data crystal. Teams one and two will consist of six men each. Team three will have only two if us, Cody and Sam will make up green team, your specialty in close quarter combat makes you perfect for the job. Blue will consist of Michael, Holly, Jax, Kai, Jeff, and myself. The rest of you will be red. Each team will take their own pelican to ensure mission effectiveness"

Omega's voice crackled over the speakers throughout the room, "Exiting slip space T-minus two minutes."

"Alright everyone, those going ground side will have everything explained to them once there is dirt beneath our feet. Now let's get to the hangar."

The self-proclaimed master of air and space pelican pilot Jaxsen Fredrickson prepped his pelican for flight as he conversed with the other pilots. "Did they mention what our payload is?"

The voice of the other ground team's pilot Joey Kendly startled Jaxsen as he spoke while walking through the pelican's cargo bay. "They haven't told us shit, all that was said was prepare for takeoff, we are dropping a few presents for the covey. As he stepped into the cockpit he added, "They didn't even mention where we are to land. I don't know about you but I am ready to fly."

"Just about finished with preparations; so where you think we're supposed to go after dropping it off, Arcadia HQ?"

"Works for me, I have a feeling we'll be lucky to make it past the ODR."

"You've got that right; we have a real task on our hands." The thudding noise of metal on metal caught his attention. "Shit, I think we just found out what our cargo is."

As Leon walked across the hangar he radioed his fellow Spartans. "No matter what happens out there I am honored to call you my fellow Spartans and my family." Although they are not of the same blood line the bond that they had formed between each other since they first met after being kidnapped at the age of six, specially trained for combat and surgically augmented. His fellow Spartans were the closest thing to family he had.

Jax patted him on the back, "Come on lead don't get soft on us, we're not even dead yet. Besides, we got your back like we always have and we will all make it out safe like usual."

Leon appreciated the confidence Jax showed but everyone knew that this was the last time all of them would be together and it was something they accepted long ago. "Thanks for the confidence booster Jax. Alright everybody saddle up your birds and get the job done."

As everyone boarded the pelicans Omega's voice popped over the speakers, "Dropping out of slip space in ten seconds." The ship rattled slightly as it adjusted to the change of pace and streamed its way into position among the chaos.

Captain Leonard's voice crackled through the speakers within each pelican's cockpit, "Alright gentlemen as you now know you are hauling a heavy payload of thrill and excitement for the covey. Make sure the package gets delivered."

In unison the pilots replied to the captain with a firm "Yes sir!"

"Then it is settled, mission is a go. Good luck gentlemen."

The doors of the hangar slid open and the three pelicans exploded out of their cage straight into hell. Plasma rounds hiss by as the seraphs in the area directed their attention to the flock as they neared the ODR. An array of AA rounds shot past the pelicans in an attempt to relieve the trio of their followers. One of the rounds tore through the cockpit of an unshielded seraph hitting the pilot; the force of the round exploded the alien as it tore through his torso. The ship veered off and crashed into the seraph nearest to it. The ships illuminated the area around them as they exploded in an array of blue and purple fire.

A stray AA round tore through the front starboard engine of Joey's pelican. The explosion thrust the pelican towards Jaxsen's ship. Fighting for control Joey cried out, "New York this is Echo Four Six Zero, I have been hit and will not be able to make it ground side." As he spoke he sent the ship into a barrel roll over Jaxsen's ship, the hulls of the pelicans scraped past each other.

"Roger that Five Six Zero, land in the ODR hangar and swap cargo with Three One Three and he will take over your mission over."

"Copy that, heading to new LZ over. Just as Joey cut off the comm a stray round from one of the few remaining seraphs scored a direct hit on the rear port engine of Joey's pelican sending the ship spiraling out of control and straight into one of the ODR's main AA cannons exploding into a fiery ball of death on impact.

Jaxsen called back to Leon, "You might want to come up here."

Leon stood up from his seat and stepped through the cloud of Spartans to the cockpit. "What is the problem?"

"Echo Four Six Zero got seriously damaged and crashed into the ODR; Three One Three is entering the rings hangar as we speak."

Leon Knew that the Spartans on that ship were dead, the chances of them surviving was next to none. "Thank you for the update, continue as planned." He patted the male on the shoulder before stepping back into the cargo bay. He glanced around at his remaining team members; he could feel their urge to know what had happened for drop ship pilots never called the leader aboard the ship to speak in private unless something seriously wrong had occurred. He closed the door to the cockpit as he heard Jaxsen radio to New York to report the situation. As he slipped his helmet off he thought quickly trying to find a way to break the news to them softly. Concluding that it was best to tell them upfront what happened he let out a long dragged out sigh before speaking, "Red team is KIA."


	3. Chapter 2: Plan B

**CHAPTER 2: Plan B**

**34 Hours Prior To Present**

The pelican landed in a grassy knoll five miles south of the power grid, the only thing between blue team and their objective was a dense forest and any covenant that had made it into the area before they did. Jaxsen's voice popped over the pelican's speakers as the loading ramp lowered, "Thank you for choosing Jaxsen airlines, please return your seats to their upright position. Don't forget to tip your hostesses and have a nice day."

Jax mumbled to himself, "Smart ass." Being the first off the drop ship he scanned the LZ before giving his teammates the all clear hand gesture. Keeping an eye on the surrounding area he joined his team to find out the plan of approach.

Leon played with the memory unit containing Omega's copy as everyone formed up on him after deciding the area was clear of hostiles. "Alright so here is what is going to happen, our numbers are half of what I would prefer so that means double duty for all of us. Holly you are our sniper like always but you are going to watch your own back; we need all the firepower we can get on the power grid that we are babysitting. We're in luck because they built a small fort around it incase rebels attacked so we have some advantage while on the defensive. Captain Leonard was nice enough to provide us with a copy of Omega for strategic purposes. I am going to try getting us some extra fire power from Arcadia HQ, I can almost promise you they will hit us hard and try everything to take out the ODR. We have a good hike ahead of us so let's get moving." Waving his team forward he paused as he inserted the Omega B memory unit into his helmet, he felt a rush of a metallic sensation engulf his body as the AI merged with his armor's internal components.

Omega's voice popped through the helmet's speakers, "Component activation and configuration complete. Authorization code one five zero two six. You may now proceed with the mission."

Leon shook his head and quickly got over the sensation that engulfed him. quickly catching up with his team he began the necessary processes to get authorization to received support for the protection of the grid.

Cody kept a firm grip on his assault rifle as he walked the halls with Sam, working their way to the data crystal storage room. Although the data was accessible from outside the room remote clearance from within the room had to be done before even a strand of data could be retrieved. So far all attempts to infiltrate the ODR had been denied, however many of the ring's defense cannons had been destroyed either by plasma fire from nearby covenant flag ships or by the remnants of destroyed drop ships, it was only a matter of time until he and his partner had a real fight on their hands. As a failsafe their plan was to place explosive charges throughout the room, if their AO got too crowded they would detonate the charges and earn their call signs as heroes amongst the chaos.

After entering the authorization code into the data pad the door to the data room slid open before them. "Go ahead Sam I'll cover you from out here." They exchanged nods and Cody switched his visor over to night vision mode. Although the hall was perfectly lit and no alarms had been triggered he wasn't going to risk being snuck up on by spec ops. Noticing a small blip on his radar he studied a section of the passageway carefully. After noticing nothing out of the ordinary he radioed the ODR's AI, "Zeus, are any of the hangar bay doors open?"

"Not since your arrival. Do we have guests?"

"No I was just making sure we were not going to get snuck up on. I will keep you informed on anything I find." He switched coms over to Sam, "I'm going to lock you inside for a while; I'm going for a walk."

"Kind of a bad time for a tour don't you think?"

"Thought I would see what the chef had on special." Although it was out of place for a conversation like this anyone who was not aboard their pelican would know it was a hidden message. By wondering what was on special Cody had informed Sam that something was indeed out of place and that he was investigating it.

Jax slapped a fresh clip into his assault rifle as he stepped over the fallen elite's body. Glancing around he spotted a wounded grunt attempting to escape. As he approached the crippled foe the grunt rolled over and cried something in its native tongue. "I'm sorry." Kneeling down he placed his rifle upon his back before gripping the alien's head with each hand and breaking its neck. He heard someone walking behind him, glancing at his radar he noticed it was friendly. Glancing over his shoulder he found Kai slapping a clip into his battle rifle. "Did you seriously tell that thing that you were sorry for killing it?"

"It was wounded and in pain Kai, no one deserves a slow painful death."

"Humanity is in pain Jax because of them. Do you really think they would have done the same for you?"

Getting to his feet Jax dusted himself off before replying, "Kai not everyone in this war is as cold hearted as you are."

Their minor argument was cut short as Holly's voice snapped over the radio "More coming your way Jax, I count two elites, four jackals and eight grunts; ten o clock."

Slipping his assault rifle from his back he nodded to Kai, "Copy that, thanks for the heads up Holly." He began making his way through the trees, moving from trunk to trunk so as to be a difficult target if they spotted him first. "Hey lead how far are we from the power grid?"

"Roughly two kilometers out, if we keep up the pace we'll be there in just over an hour."

"Any luck with the reinforcements?"

"HQ is preparing a couple scorpion tanks and some hogs. Not much but it sure as hell is better than nothing."

Three fiery blue plasma rounds sizzled past Jax's head as he slid behind a nearby tree trunk. "Amen to that." Reaching into the grenade pouch on his belt he primed a fragmentation grenade and lobbed it around the trunk. After hearing the grenade detonate he bolted around the trunk and to his satisfaction he recognized that he had taken out three of the eight grunts. As he brought his rifle up and he squeezed the trigger and began firing upon a charging elite. Glancing to his right briefly he spotted Kai moving up to take out the team of jackals. Returning his focus on the elite he depleted the remaining rounds in his rifle taking down the alien's shields. Placing his rifle upon the magnetic holster upon his back he closed the gap between him and the now enraged elite. As the foe roared its challenge Jax brought his right arm up and grabbed ahold of the left side of the elite's helmet and using all of his strength slammed the elites head into a nearby tree sending splinters flying across the shrub around them. Bringing the creature back he took a mild leap in reverse and brought the elite's neck down on his knee breaking it in half.

As the elite collapsed upon the ground the loud snap of an energy sword sparking to life behind him caught Jax's attention. As he spun around in an attempt to defend himself blue blood splattered across his visor as a round from Holly's trusty sniper rifle tore through the elite's skull. Waving his thanks he pulled his magnum from its holster and picked off the remaining grunts.

Cody's footsteps were soft as he inched his way along the narrow passageways that honeycombed throughout the Orbital Defense Ring. As he entered a darkly lit room a red blip on his motion sensor caught his attention, the dot was moving fast and quickly closing in on him. Materializing from the shadows an elite brought his energy sword to life, managing to get a few shots off Cody took a step back before the elite brought its left foot up kicking Cody back out of the room into the hallway. Sliding to a halt he tossed the now useless rifle away, slipping his left hand into his grenade pouch he took a defensive stand and waited for his foe to make its next move. Charging through the door way the elite roared and brought its merciless blade over its head. Plucking the pin from the grenade in his hand Cody took three steps forward closing the gap and brought his left fist up thrust the grenade into the back of the elite's throat before rolling to the side out of the blast radius. The grenade detonated and painted the walls with the remains of the elite.

Sprinting along the halls he keyed Sam's com, "Sam we have company." To his dismal he received no answer. Sliding to a stop at the entrance to the data room he prayed that it was faulty equipment preventing contact with his teammate. After entering the password into data pad the door slid open to reveal Sam lying at the foot of the doorway in a puddle of his own blood and an elite standing over his corpse clutching the data crystal.

Slipping his magnum from its holster he fired a single round shattering the crystal. As the elite let out a cry of rage Cody slipped the sidearm back into its holster and slid his combat knife from its hilt before waiting for the elite to make a move. Blue blades exploded from the elites forearms and the creature charged Cody. Sidestepping the elites attack he grabbed hold of its helmet and ripped it from its owner, tossing it back into the data room before turning to face his foe. As the elite charged once more he assumed that the same move would not work again he brought his right foot up and using all his strength kicked the elite backwards into the glass window that ran along the hallway, as the elite collided with it small cracks shot throughout the glass. Spinning the knife in his hand as he stepped into the doorway data room Cody looked one last time at his fallen brother before turning and sending the knife soaring into the already weakened glass, as the blade connected with the window he grabbed ahold of the doorway. The glass shattered and everything within the hallway was suddenly sucked into space as the air rushed through the now 'open' window.

Cody waited in the doorway until metal plates slid along the hallway replacing what was once glass. Recognizing that the area was being pressurized once more he began to make his way along the corridor as he radioed the station's AI, "Zeus we have a problem, elites found a way to get inside the station. Sierra 186 is MIA and I had no choice but to destroy the data crystal."

"Understood Spartan, I will inform Admiral Burns of the incident."

"Copy that, I'm on my way up to explain the situation to him personally. My guess would be that he would want a firsthand description of what occurred."

Jax followed his team out of the tree line at the edge of the forest to find what he assumed was the ODR generator in the distance. He took up a spot next to Leon and let out a sigh. "Any bets that with what resistance we've had so far that the covey is already making a move on the generator?"

Leon nodded in agreement "We can only hope that we aren't too late to keep it operational. How are we looking on ammunition?"

Jax fingered his ammo pouch before responding, "I'm down to four mags for my rifle and two for my side arm. I don't know about everyone else but I can only assume the same."

"Hopefully our reinforcements are not too far behind us with our support and supplies. We better hurry up if we plan to stand a chance of holding the covey off the door steps of the colonies."

"If our boys don't get intercepted this may wind up to actually being a decent day. In an alien invasion kind of way I guess." Following his team Jax began crossing the remaining ground. Considering it was a peaceful time during their expedition he commed Holly, "How's the view up there?"

"Oh you know the usual, lonesome. Just the way I like it. How do you like your….hang on. Your shoe is untied."

Looking at his boot in confusion he couldn't help but ask, "You realize we don't even have laces right?"

"Yep." Firing a single shot just above Jax's head she couldn't help but chuckle as the cloaked elite dropped upon the ground. "You still looked though."

"Jesus, you could have just told me to duck you know!"

"I wanted to see if you were still gullible. Good news is you're still alive and just as smart as before."

Leon stopped the team before glancing back to them, "Everyone check the hi band."

As Jax switched com frequencies over to the UNSC hi band he was immediately greeted with a series of screams and explosions. "Is that coming from orbit?" As he finished his question a large amount of smoke began rolling through the air and sweeping past them.

Leon waved the team forward, "Looks like we're arriving just behind schedule. Everyone on their toes it's about to get extremely hostile."

Cody stepped into the stations command center immediately noticing the war that was taking place outside of the station. "Admiral Burns, if you have a moment we have a situation I need to discuss with you about."

The Admiral removed a cigarette from a pocket within his jacket, lighting it before approaching him. "Follow me to my office Spartan; it's best to speak behind closed doors. Let's keeps this short, there is a war going on at the moment after all."

Cody followed the Admiral through a door that lead directly from the command center into his office, the door shutting behind them. "Sierra 186 is KIA sir and the data crystal is destroyed."

Burns toyed with his cigarette as he sat behind his desk. "I'm sorry to hear about your teammate. Tell me, how is it that we lost the data crystal?"

"Elites, they were using cloaking devices which would explain how they made it aboard. Somehow they found their way into the data room killing Sierra 186 as he was setting up our plan b and attempted to escape with the crystal. I shot the crystal while it was in their possession before taking them out to ensure that the information was not leaked. I only encountered two, and I suspect that more are aboard the station as we speak."

"This is indeed a considerable set back. However, this is not something we can…"

Before the Admiral could finish his statement a large explosion from within the command center cut him off. Following the first came a second that blew open the Admiral's office sending the two men into space, the Admiral dying immediately. Cody drifted to a fragment of floating bulkhead and pushed himself off sending him back to the station. Stepping aboard of what remained of the command center he stopped at Zeus' data module. "Zeus, are you still functional?" Getting no response he forced the doors open and began working his way along the hallways to the ODST launch bay. He already knew the station was finished without the Admiral and Zeus in the picture, the least he could do now would be escaping and assisting the ground forces.

As he stepped into the launch bay Cody noticed multiple targets appear on his radar. Glancing around the room he noticed two drop pods left, "My luck never seems to fail me." He stood near the doorway pondering whether to make a break for one of the drop pods. As he was about to make his move he heard the battle cry of an elite behind him. In a single motion he pivoted on his left heel and back handed the elite with his right fist and plucked the alien's energy sword. As the weapon sparked to life Cody reversed his rotation and thrust the blade through the foe's torso. The elite bellowed a cry of pain and discharged its plasma rifle before collapsing upon the deck. The light from the plasma rounds partially distorted the active camouflage of multiple elites as they shot throughout the room revealing to Cody that he was surrounded.

Multiple loud thumps rang throughout the room as seven elites stepped closer to Cody disabling their camouflage and brought their own swords to life. The closest charged, mimicking the action Cody sprinted towards the elite. As the distance between them became small he dropped to his knees and slid past the elite as his sword cut through the alien's thighs, punching the floor with his right hand he pushed himself off his knees and thrust the blade through the chest of the closest elite. As the creature began to fall he snatched its energy sword and took three steps back taking a defensive stance as the blade sparked to life.

Two of the remaining five elites charged, as they swung their swords Cody made a mild leap backwards before stepping forward and swinging his own two swords, connecting with their throats. As he stepped closer to the remaining three elites multiple bangs echoed through the room as the bodies crashed against the hull and their heads bounced across the floor. Realizing that they had to work together the three elites charged. Cody tapped the blades of his swords together before charging the trio. Hoping for the best he sent the two swords twirling through the air towards the two outside elites, only one of them connected while the other was batted away by the other elite. Although his plan was only half effective as he had hoped he continued charging the middle elite, jumping just out of striking distance he clasp ahold of a pipe that ran along the ceiling swinging himself over the elite, as he passed over his foe he brought his left arm down and found grip with his hand bringing the alien backwards and slamming against the hull. Reaching into his grenade pouch he primed a fragmentation grenade and sprinted towards the nearest drop pod. Sliding to a halt he threw the grenade, the frag connected with the edge of the sword owned downed elite, the blade sliced through the casing of the grenade and forcefully ignited it. Purple blood splashed throughout the room. Satisfied with the path he carved Cody climbed into the drop pod and launched himself into Arcadia's atmosphere.


End file.
